English edit

Etymology edit

From uni- +‎ directional.

Pronunciation edit

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌjuː.nɪ.dɪˈɹɛk.ʃə.nəl, -daɪ-, -ˈɹɛkʃ.nəl/, [ˌjuː.nɨ.dɨˈɹɛk.ʃə.nl̩, -daɪ-, -ˈɹɛkʃ.nl̩]
  • (General American) enPR: yo͞o'nĭ-dĭ-rĕkʹshə-nəl, -dī-; IPA(key): /ˌjuː.nɪ.dɪˈɹɛk.ʃə.nəl, -daɪ-/, [ˌjuː.nɪ̈.dɪ̈ˈɹɛk.ʃə.nl̩, -daɪ-]
  • Rhymes: -ɛkʃənəl, -ɛkʃnəl
  • Hyphenation: uni‧di‧rec‧tion‧al

Adjective edit

unidirectional (not comparable)

  1. Pertaining to only one direction, e.g.: where all component parts are aligned in the same direction in space.
    • 1941 November, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part VI—Experiments and Rebuilds 1927-33”, in Railway Magazine, page 483:
      [...] a reversible booster was fitted to the trailing bogie; all previous applications on the L.N.E.R. for use in main line traffic had been of unidirectional boosters, [...].
    • 2005, Richard Samson, edited by Martha Tennent, Training for the New Millennium: Pedagogies for translation and interpreting, Benjamins Translation Library, page 119:
      Equally important is the class mailing list, which facilitates two-way communication at a distance. (By contrast, the web page is basically a unidirectional teacher-to-student communication.)
  2. Not subject to change or reversal of direction.

Antonyms edit

Translations edit

See also edit

Noun edit

unidirectional (plural unidirectionals)

  1. A fabric in which the majority of fibers run in the same single direction.